A few weeks ago, my dog did something to his back/neck. He is only 8 years old and thought this might be the end for him. Since these dogs have such a long wheel base it puts a strain on their back/neck. The vet said we should keep him from going up and down steps until his back is better. He was put on a dose of steroids to help him out but that requires him to go outside about every 3 hours to relieve himself. Going out in the middle of the night to cart him down the steps and then wait for him to get finished is a real PIA. The surgery is out of the question $3000-$4000 so I guess I’ll just nurse him back to his normal self.

In order to make his life easier (mine also) I built him a ramp around the hexagon Gazebo so he can go on his own. Just in case your dog is struggling to navigate steps you can build something like this to make his/her life better.

Jeff

http://members.accesstoledo.com/beagly/keep/ramp1.jpg

http://members.accesstoledo.com/beagly/keep/ramp2.jpg

http://members.accesstoledo.com/beagly/keep/ramp3.jpg

http://members.accesstoledo.com/beagly/keep/ramp4.jpg

tattoomike68

07-16-2007, 03:01 PM

I am glad you love your dog and take such good care of him.

Thats a nice ramp, it even looks good. Some stain to match is all it needs.

Dawai

07-16-2007, 03:20 PM

Personally, thou I do love my dog, I don't see the immediate relevance to machining. Careful nobody adds a reply about Mexicans to this topic.

(and you know I go off topic)

A elevator with a immigrant operator would be much more easier for the dog to get in and out. NOW should you go hydraulic shaft or cable type is entirely up to you. Personally with a lift distance of less than 3 floors I prefer the hydraulic shaft type. Just be sure for ecological reasons you add in a fluid spill containment area so the future impact on society will not suffer. If perhaps you desire to go "robotics" and not hire the immigrant to operate the handle, I'd suggest rolling the whole topic over to one of the cnc boards for their discussion.

kendall

07-16-2007, 03:52 PM

sure there's machining involved, place another ramp starting above the end of the first, round the corners and you have a multistart screw of impressive scale.

my moms neighbor has a wienerdog, he's a terror to chipmunks and feild mice around there.

Ken

laddy

07-16-2007, 04:51 PM

Good Looking ramp for a handsome dog! I too have to rig up something similar. My pooch is 15 years old and needs it. Yours looks great. I'll give it a shot. Fred

Your Old Dog

07-16-2007, 05:23 PM

You da-man Jeff! It's odd what we'd do for just an animal, but for a friend, well that's a much different story. I was making plans to build a ramp for our lab to get into our travel trailer when he took a turn for the worse and had to be put to sleep.

speedy

07-16-2007, 08:41 PM

Great effort Jeff. I bet that the old boy (?) really appreciates it as well:)

IOWOLF

07-16-2007, 09:16 PM

A real pet lover, Good for you.

I would do the same for my cats,But I hope I never have to.

littlelocos

07-16-2007, 10:01 PM

Jeff,
Great idea. I might have to build one of those for my 10 y.o. Cairn terrier. Last year, we paid for one ACL surgery on one of his rear knees, now his other one is about to go out. The ramp sure would be cheaper. These surgeries can run from $600 to $3,000. We went with the $600 model which included two nylon straps screwed into the knee joint. (the machining part of this post) For $3k, you can expect a full, orthroscopic repair.